Wow, guys. This recipe is a keeper. I love, love, love these chicken meatballs. They are sweet, a little spicy, and MEATY (without all the saturated fats). Perfect with rice and sesame roasted vegetables.
Jim calls them “symphony meatballs” because he thinks my act of throwing the ingredients in a bowl and “inventing” the recipe is the culinary equivalent of a composition by Beethoven. Yep, I’m a meatball-making prodigy and composer.
By the way, this Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe’s is everything I ever want or need in a seasoning blend–garlic, onion, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and salt. It also goes really well on a bagel….I think other companies are catching on because I saw a giant Kirkland brand container of it at Costco.
Yummy and 30-minutes to make!
These meatballs have a fun Asian flair from the sriracha, brown sugar, and sesame seed oil. To accompany them I roasted vegetables my usual way, but instead of olive oil, I used sesame seed oil, and instead of salt, I used this Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend.
The whole meal came together in 30 minutes! Roasted vegetables in the oven, rice in the rice cooker, and meatballs in the cast iron skillet on the stove. It was quick and SO rewarding. And yes, you should get a rice cooker.
Usually I have found leaner ground meats like turkey and chicken to be dry, but NOT THESE. Uh uh. These are juicy, sweet, and have awesome grill marks because my cast iron skillet has grates 😉
The amount of fat in it is really low, too, which I have to care about now to keep my heart in good shape! Somehow it manages to still be delicious without the heavy addition of oils!!! It’s a meatball miracle.
The recipe makes about 24 meatballs / 4 servings, so that’s SIX MEATBALLS PER SERVING. Yes, please! I love the Yogi Berra quote when he’s asked how many slices he’d like his pizza cut into. He says, “Six. I couldn’t eat eight.” Cracks me up.
I love making these balanced meals now to make sure my macro nutrients are in check. It’s a challenge to cook with less fat (because butter really does make everything taste good…) but this recipe definitely accomplished that mission and I am very proud.
Let me know what you think if you try them! And tag me on Instagram if you do! @bakerstheory
Sweet 'n' Spicy Glazed Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 tsp Sesame seed oil
- 1 lb Ground chicken
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp Soy sauce
- 1 tsp Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
- ¼ tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 Egg lightly beaten
- 1 tsp Seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar packed
- ¼-½ tsp Hot chili sauce like Sriracha
Glaze
- ½ tbsp Creamy peanut butter
- ½ tbsp Soy sauce
- ½ tsp Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
- ½ tsp Mustard
- 1 tbsp Seasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ tsp Hot chili sauce
- Juice of one lime
- pinch Salt
Instructions
Meatballs
- Heat a large oiled cast iron skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs so it is thoroughly homogenous. Form into 1½" diameter balls.
- Place balls in the heated skillet. They should sizzle. Allow them to cook for 3 minutes, then turn them to brown on the opposite side. Cook another 3 minutes.
- Flip to another side and then cover the pan with aluminum foil for 5-8 minutes, or until no longer pink inside. (Might have to slice one open to check!)
- Transfer cooked meatballs to a shallow dish with the glaze in it and toss them to coat. Serve with rice and roasted vegetables!
Glaze
- While the meatballs are covered and cooking, prepare the simple glaze.
- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients with a whisk. Beat until smooth. Taste and adjust with salt if needed. Pour into a shallow dish.